Henry Gerber House

Henry Gerber House

A National Historic Landmark since 2015, the Henry Gerber House was home to the German-born founder of the Society for Human Rights, incorporated in Illinois as the first formal American gay rights organization. Although it was short lived, put out of operation by a police raid in July 1925, the organization met regularly and published two issues of Friendship and Freedom, likely the first gay newsletter in the country. The house itself, originally built in 1885 in the Queen Anne style, is nearly intact. It is now a private residence.